Pulse of The People: Rent your text books

Monday, March 25, 2013

How much are textbooks really worth? Currently, college students around the country are paying larges sums of money for textbooks that will be used a handful of times.

Assume the average college student is taking five courses per semester. Most of classes those demand thick and heavy textbooks with an endless number of pages. The average college student could be spending anywhere from $300 to $850 on textbooks per semester.

Lets consider my own personal experience from buying textbooks. I can still remember spending a good amount of my summer's savings on textbooks, $800 worth of books that following the end of the semester were considered "outdated." I once again spent another $800 for my spring semester of that same academic year. For the length of two semesters I spent nearly $1,600 on just textbooks. I sold some books back thinking I would get a decent return when it was only pocket change to go eat off campus. I collected $130 for books that were considered "acceptable."

However, the following year I finally came to my senses and didn't waste my money buying textbooks, I rented them. I was able to rent a semester worth of textbooks for $280. Renting textbooks is the most efficient option for a student. By renting books a student could save anywhere from $200 to $500 depending on the course load. Lets be honest the high expenses of buying textbooks credits the stereotype of "poor college students." College students need to be more economical and start renting books.